The auction that has just been noticed by Amcore Bank is a part of a foreclosure process. Due to a sudden and severe downturn last year in the demand for poker products, Eagle Games, Inc. became insolvent and finally ceased operations on May 31, 2006.

The Eagle Games brand and the existing inventory is what is being sold at auction.

I am personally continuing to work on game design and development for Age of Empires and Pirates! (The guys at SDR are spearheading the actual game design for Pirates!) and expect that they will both be ready for publication this Fall/ Holiday season.

More details will be forthcoming after the auction on August 4th.

I appreciate the support that you have all shown Eagle Games in the past and hope that Eagle Games products are available for years to come.

Thanks for posting this, Rick, and thank you, Mr. Drover, for providing some information.

Let me just ask the group here, many of whom may be more knowledgeable about Eagle Games than I (Ryan, are you out there?):  Poker products?  Was Eagle that heavily invested in Poker?  I seem to recall that one of their games revolved around Poker, but I wasn’t aware that this was such a big part of their catalog.  Was there another Eagle division that didn’t get much play on BGN and BGG that featured Poker?  If anyone can provide some information, I’d appreciate it.

I’m here, Larry.  I was aware of some things and I have the benefit of managing businesses, so I can still probably gain perspective off the things I don’t specifically know. 

I will say this:  First:  It is amazing on Boardgamegeek the level of rampant speculation that goes on without any merit of the facts…

Second: is this prevailing attitude of “jackals going in for the kill” to literally contact the auction house tasked with selling assets (as an entire entity I might add...) just to buy a game for the ole game collection?  And this is done so blantantly.... words cannot describe it.

MY problem with BGG?  BGG can sometimes be an entire group of people who demonstrates such uncaring attitude and actions… if there is unseen benefit to be gained.  They don’t even realize that precisely because of that attitude most reputable publishers and designers actually have very little input into BGG.  It’s really ruthless.  These people don’t even realize they are “cutting off their nose to spite their face” and they then complain that these very designers and publishers aren’t involved enough at the website!  Amazing circular argument!

Demand, demand, chide, scold, cajole to get someone to give them answers they want NOW… then in mass thank that person for being such a wonderful influence for the game industry.  Next step?  Let’s rue the day this happened!

How hypocritical.

Why?  Because then it is right back to the “shark attack”.  “By the way, Glenn since you’re here… and since you are going out of business....do you think could you recommend someplace where I could get Conquest of the Empire for $1.99… with free shipping?”

I’m paraphrasing… but I think I’ve captured the prevaling attitude.

A good company (from the point of view of its investors) is bent on profit.  Why then is it wrong for customers to be bent on getting a hot deal from a failing company. It’s just the corporate mentality coming full circle.

It may be sad to see a flagship company in an industry we all love go down the tubes, but I would love to get Conquest of the Empire for $1.99 with free shipping!

Jonathon,

When a company’s profits are excessive and unreasonable relative to their costs, it can be construed as price gouging.

Good company’s also exhibit “social value” (such as when they contribute sponsorship to a cystic fibrosis foundation. for instance...) Furthermore, most company’s pour the majority of their profits back into the company itself...for development,improvement and production of new products for public consumption.

I guess we would all love to get Conquest of the Empire for $1.99 with free shipping… but it is far more gratifying to support a mutually beneficial business relationship where everyone thrives.  I’ll trade that for $1.99 Conquest of the Empire any day.

To say it is just the “corporate mentality coming back full circle” is a simplistic argument to a more complex arrangement, I think.

Ryan,

I think you are getting your knickers in a twist over BGG a little too much.  I know how BGG can be reactionary, and sure, there are bad posts on various topics, and there is often heated debate and loud-mouthed crazies.  But, BGG is a public internet forum, so what did you really expect?  You see, the internet is a series of tubes… Sorry, that’s an inside joke.

Anyway, my response to the forum was basically that it was sad news and that I wished everyone at Eagle well.  There are plenty of similar posts in the same thread.  I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if that was the general feeling of many in the boardgame hobby in regards to this recent news.

’You see, the internet is a series of tubes...’

Perhaps the internet is more like computers connected through a globally spanning mesh of some kind…

David,

You’re right.  And I should expect as much from a public internet forum.  There is bad… but there is also good.

And to be clear:  I certainly think there were some responsible and well-meaning comments on this topic too. 

At any rate, I have always appreciated the well-reasoned comments on BGN.  And that comes from readers such as yourself.  I can also appreciate that you disagree with my position (at least in part)… but I also respect that you make well-reasoned points.

Listen gang, just so you know… I am not immune from crazy comments sometimes myself.  We are all human.  I hope that I am willing to accept when I need to be “checked down” when those crazy comments come out.  I try to be self-aware. 

I always have confidence with BGN readers that if I need extra “context” and need to be enlightened sometimes, it will be done constructively.

Thanks David.  Valuable perspective for everyone.

This is too bad… I’ve enjoyed several of Eagle Games’ titles over the years despite some folks lower opinions of them and was of the opinion that they kept getting better.

That AoE and Pirates are still coming out is great news.

I was aware that Poker success was helping their buisness along significantly, but did not know it was quite so significant.